MACON, GEORGIA -- I was hired on to the Marriott team in early October. The hiring process was disorganized, and I almost turned the job down after the official job offer because of the ordeal. I was scheduled prior to completeing orientation, the newly hired director of human resources seemed to be rather incompetent in his position and it took days to complete each step in the drawn out process. Once I was finally cleared to work, I was asked to come train for the first day on my birthday. It was stressed that they were going to be very busy and desperately needed me to work. I agreed and stayed until after 11:30PM on my birthday, After only 1 day of training, I was on the floor by myself with no manager or supervisor. The supervisor that hired me was never actually scheduled to work with me so I never knew who exactly I needed to report to in case of issues, complaints, or even who to ask for wines and alcohols that needed to be stocked. Within a week, I came into work and received listed form letter from a supervisor I had never met. (Tashina) She listed several duties that my trainer had not gone over with me, and some that I had explicitly gone over with another supervisor. When I finally met Tashina she was rude, unproffessional and handled her self like a teen age entry-level employee. I was surprised to learn that she was actually a supervisor. She immediately addressed my shoes, which having worked over 2 weeks already, had never received any criticism. She then turned to my co-worker/ trainer and said that my shoes were out of dress code, and my pants weren't the right "material" After I was told about the conversation, I waited for her to approach me about my clothes- and never heard from her. On Halloween, Tashina was scheduled to work all night. She left early to be with her family (I have a 2 year old and would have loved to actually spend the holiday with MY child as well) I had a cami tank top under one of my regular cardigans, but after arriving at work, I was rather uncomfortable leaning over the bar. I made a mental not to wear it again and during the remainder of my employment there, I never did. However, the next shift that I worked, I was told that Tashina told several other employees that "she didn't know where I thought I worked" and "Kori looks like she works at a strip club" I was MORTIFIED that this was a conversation between a SUPERVISOR and one of my co-workers! The following was saved on my phone on December 2nd, coincidentally, 3 days before I was supsended for a BOGUS made up event involving giving away free drinks::

On December 2nd I was about 5 min late. Tashina talked to wait staff about my tardiness. Said that she had told me I had to be early that day and that I was "always late" Which was NOT true.
Told chef I wasn't coming in, and had to find a bartender to work for me because I had called in. (I text her and told her I was running a few minutes behind)
Text me while I was in the hotel; clocked in at 420 but had been there for over 15 min
** when I arrived though, all she said was "oh good, you're here" Instead of mentioning to ME any of the comments about being late.

I went to grab food in the cafeteria when I came back Tashina made sure I saw her check her watch twice- meanwhile she was standing around chatting with servers- there was someone at my bar that she could have assisted, but instead spent 85% of the night talking to the two servers on the floor (I'm sure all 3 of them had more productive things to do- such as help run the bar's food, since its difficult for me to care for guest, remain behind the bar AND run food, and dishes.

At about 630 I told her and another server( that she was gossiping with) that I was going to grab a jacket before it got too cold and a different shirt. She looked at her watch twice and just nodded,

Sunday, NOV. 27th I had a sweater vneck, Eli stopped me in the restaurant and told me I needed to cover up and do something about "that". A front desk girl "Bennie" overheard it and went to the front desk complaining that I should be written up because I've been told "repeatedly about my clothes" I returned to the bar to ask one of the servers if she had heard anything about my clothes. she said she had heard Tashina mention once that she "was going to speak to me" During that conversation, Eli returned with an oversized burgundy sweatshirt. He said he knew that they had spoken to me before about this and that "we weren't going to make a big deal about it" I put the sweatshirt on but was so embarrasssed that both times I was reprimanded, was in front of a co-worker. *NOTE- no supervisor has ever spoke to me about my attire being out of uniform.

Thursday DEC 1st, I saw Trish before my shift started and asked her about my sweater, explained the incident from Sunday and was told my shirt was fine.

The night of the lady antebellum concert, we were called in an hour early to accommodate the concert attendees. Aisha put her bank in the bar cash register and when I went to put mine into the Starbuck's register, Tashina told me we were "sharing" the register and that she would move her bank over to one side. I was APPALLED at the suggestion, but still being new and the bar was already relatively busy, I utilized two sections of the drawer and kept my larger bills in my bank bag, which was slightly confusing- especially given the pace of the event. At one point one guest requested pineapple juice, and we didn't have any stock (the bar has had continuous problems keeping it stocked) Tashina muttered under her breath that "that was why she wanted the bar stocked yesterday" all the liquor, wine and beer was completely stocked with extra mixers- the ONLY item we didn't have was the pineapple juice. Around 8, Tashina mentioned something about not getting out til 3 am. I asked Aisha why she thought it was going to take 4 hours to close. Then she told us we were staying til 2 am. Neither of us knew about the change to our schedule and both were annoyed at the disorganization. We were both discussing why we weren't told previously and I was explaining that I had to be up for church the next morning when Tashina poked her head around the corner and said we could leave at 12 and two other servers could take our places. When the concert was over, our bar was completely packed. I started taking orders, but when I returned to my register to start a check, there was a female standing at my register with my drawer open! I saw her name tag so knew she was with the Marriott, but wasn't told that other employees now had access to my assigned bank that I am liable for at all times. I became extremely flustered because when I FINALLY got to my drawer, the RVC had been changed and my card no longer could access my tabs and open checks. I had to wait for Tashina to change the RVC but every time the other sever got into the system, it kept happening over and over again. I was waiting 5-7 minutes between every order because she or another server were constantly in my drawer and it was hard to concentrate when I was worried of my bank was going to be short. I finally said that I would start closing out all my checks so that the other bartender could take orders because patrons were getting VERY upset and irritated. I could tell Tashina was mad that we weren't staying, but she had told the other bartender to come and there was no efficiency in having 5 bartenders behind one bar. I finally got all of my paperwork done and went into the back office to complete my close-out, when I came back out, all of the concert-goers were gone, but a wedding party had trickled in. I went behind the bar to help out a little because I could tell they were all struggling. I was loading dishes when Tashina slammed the door, and muttered under her breath (I say this because it was passively directed for me to hear) that she told Ray that we had REFUSED to stay and he was going to discuss it with mr. Mcartney. I opened the dishwasher back up, finished loading and then went immediately to ray's office. I asked him if he had a minute and explained that they had only asked me the day before if I could come in an hour early, but somehow failed to mention staying until 2 am, I told him about sharing the drawer and told him that yes, I didn't want to stay until 2 but when the other bartender showed up, I couldn't work if I wanted to. He seemed surprised that Tashina mentioned him, which led me to believe that she had just been ranting and hadn't even told him the situation at all!

Two days after telling Ray how uncomfortable I was with sharing the drawer, Tashina came to the register and said we were going to have to share the drawer again?! Obviously, the situation was not handled- because this is against ALL company policies.

*lady antebellum- after I spoke with ray, I came back out and continued helping. Tashina had multiple open checks with no hotel room or name- it was far too busy not to have some kind of system. She didn't know how to make 3 out of 4 drinks that were requested and kept asking me how to do different things in the computer. She was completely inadequate behind the bar and voided a LARGE amount of money from her computer at the end of the night.

Nov 27, she called me to ask if I could drop her bank because she had forgotten to drop it.

December 2, she described that brandy had been fired because she didn't respect Tashina because she was black. I felt as though this was her comparing my employment and brandy's. I fully respect Tashina's authority, however- it's difficult to maintain that respect when she is not conducting herself as a supervisor. I love working at the Marriott and usually look forward to what the evening holds before each shift. It does make me uncomfortable though when it seems that there is a lot of gossiping being done by supervisors instead of professional conversations between manager and employee.

I had infomed some of the employees of my intent to speak with human resources about all of these events but ironically, I was suspended before I was even able to complain.

On December 5th, when I reported for my shift, I was told by Tashina that Ray (the Banquet's supervisor) wanted to speak with me. I went over his office and couldn't find him so I clocked in, and while at the punch-in station, found him headed back to his office. He closed the door and told me I was suspended for giving away drinks and that a manager on duty had "witnessed" it. He infomed me that the incident had occurred that past Fri. I told him about an separate incident that I thought he was referring to, he assured me that he didn't have the whole story and would spend the week "researching" the statement that was given. I gave a written statement to Ray giving details about Friday and was told that If I had any concerns I could speak with Rick, the human resources director, Since I was sure there was obviously a mistake, I took the initiative and time to speak with Rick. He flat out lied and told me he had no idea what was going on, feigned shock that I had been suspended and wasted my time as I rehashed what happened Friday night. I left feeling assured that this was protocol and that I would be back to work on Saturday. I spent the week worried about my job, my bills and how Christmas would be affected by week out of work. On WED, a friend called me concerned because the Marriott had posted an open position for a bartender, I texted my co workers and was told that the position had been posted at work as well. I was distraught that my job was already posted and I hadn't even had the meeting to find out what the accusations were about. When I arrived on Friday morning at 10 AM, I was told that a manager on duty had seen me give 2 AMSTEL LIGHTS away to two gentlemen guests. I was so mad I started crying, Rick admitted that he knew the whole time "but he couldn't tell me" The manager that supposedly witnessed it wasn't at the meeting, and the time that was given didn't even match up with the guests that would have been at my bar. Not to mention...... THE BAR DOES NOT EVEN SERVE AMSTEL LIGHTS. I even mentioned to Ray and Rick that that was very odd because few people drink Amstel light, much less to men drinking it. I explained to them I didn't remember serving amstel light at all, and that the manager on duty was walking around the lobby, walking the corridors, and also working the computers at the front desk... how would he possibly have the seen the entire transaction from start to finish and be sure that they didn't pay. I asked if I was even the server on camera serving the beer.. I was told no, that it wasn't on camera AT ALL!!!! I am shocked that this is how the MARIOTT, an esteemed employer handles employee relations. I worked VERY hard and was passionate about my job. There wasn't a shift that I worked that a guest (often several) didn't compliment me on my service, my conversation or drinks. I was never told of any complaints, and strived to satisfy every guest that came to my bar. I don't know the REAL reason I was fired, but it certainly wasn't because of two beers, brands that aren't even available at the Macon Marriott bar. I'm sure that the corrupt employees mentioned have done far worse, but I know how bad their decisions affected me. Thank you for your time. also. I have yet to receive my separation notice or w-2:

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Rob at Marriott Ocean Club

Posted by Metaxas on 11/10/2009

I have been loyal customers of Marriott Hotels, and 10 years as a Marriott Vacation Club owner. We enjoy the Ocean Club in Aruba, which we have enjoyed three of the past five years. Not only do we love this property and other Marriott Vacation Club locations as a whole, we also invite numerous friends and family to join us on our vacations, booking more rooms at these Marriott properties for these vacations.

Our most recent trip in Aruba was scheduled from October 9th-17th 2009, although this vacation came to a grinding halt on the evening of October 15, 2009, leading to our departure from the Ocean Club and Aruba a day earlier than originally planned.

I have been a guest of the Marriott Resort in Aruba for many years; in fact three of the past five years I’ve chosen to vacation at your resort. As I had mentioned, my most recent stay was over the past couple of weeks. Although previous vacations have been extremely enjoyable and employees of the Marriott Ocean Club have been attentive and helpful, I am unfortunately left with a sour taste after this past experience.

During this vacation we experience several issues – including one devastating issue, the theft of all our electronic equipment.

The events of this week are in chronological order:
On October 9, 2009, I checked into the Marriott Ocean Club Resort to find our room 5685/ 5684. We were unhappy with this room assignment since we had: requested a lower floor, and we were facing the Surf Club Resort, also contrary to our requests. Two days later, on October 11,2009, the Ocean Club front desk advised us that we could move to the first floor location, which in the past we have enjoyed many times, however we were still not facing the ocean or the pool. This time we were assigned to room was 5185/5184 that once again had lousy views, facing the Surf Club Resort. My wife wanted to change room again, but I advised against this, as we did not want to spend our vacation changing rooms. I feel after being a Marriott Vacation Club owner for over ten years and having just purchased another Marriott vacation week that I would at least have had the consideration of having minimally a pool view or ocean view room.
Prior to our arrival at the Ocean Club, I had sent an email to the Ocean Club requesting additional services we might need upon our arrival. We did request one addition, a full service cleaning to our suite to be done on the fifth day of our vacation. Every day when we went to our room for lunch, housekeeping was in our room. We asked on each occasion why they were there, as we had not requested daily service. Unfortunately, we never did get a straight answer from the staff until later. During this time, we always left our laptop out on the kitchen counter, thinking no one would be in our room during certain days. Similarly, other electronic devices were not concealed. We did not expect anyone in our room; therefore, we did not take steps to secure these belongings.
We were vandalized on the evening of October 15th 2009 sometime between 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM; apparently someone knew what was in our room and were watching us to see when we were leaving the premises for an evening out. Although there were no signs of forced entry, we know all security is not 100% secure. We were thankful, when we returned later that evening, that whoever had entered our room, invaded our privacy, and stole our property, were not still there when we walked into the room. At least we were not physically assaulted. Missing were many items, including all of our electronics, which will reach a value of close to $4000.00. We found left behind in the room an old paper towel with dirt or oil on it, and an un-used condom.
We called security, which came and were very helpful to us, followed by the Aruba police. They took pictures and told us they would be moving our room that evening so they can do more investigation that next morning. The night manager came down to our room and gave us our new room 5436/ 5437, which, incidentally, we wished we had been placed in that room at the start, as it was exactly what we had requested to begin with. The night manager indicated that we wanted housekeeping every day, to which I replied, “No, you need to review your emails.” She did, and we were given credit back for five days of housekeeping, leaving the charge for the one day we had requested. At this time we also indicated our vacation was over due to this traumatic occurrence, and requested the Marriott to assist us securing flights and paying any travel charges incurred to return home on October 16,2009. They told me I would need to do this the following morning.
During the time the police and security were in our room, we kept stressing to them that the exit doors at the end of our hallways, one going to the Surf Club area and other leading to the pool, were never locked or even shut on several occurrences, as we never once had to use the room key to get into the building. We were told no one had brought this issue to the resort’s attention. We informed them that we were bringing to their attention and requested to have it fixed, as this was another unsafe security breach.
The next morning we walked over to the former room, 5185/5186, to make sure that we had removed all our personal items from that room as we were in no condition to do so the previous evening due to the stress of the situation. We also wanted to see if the police had come back as promised. We were shocked to find both exit doors at the end of the hallway open, with still no need to use room key, and to find a maintenance man in the room, watching TV. The room had already been cleaned, and housekeeping advised us some items had been sent to lost and found. The following concerned us: why had the issue with the doors remained unresolved, why was someone watching TV in the room, and, more importantly, why had the room been cleaned prior to police arrival, as potential evidence was in that room. I would hope that the Marriott would not let another family stay in that location until the police and security investigation were both closed.
We spoke to the manager in charge that day, and discovered nothing could be done to reimburse us until the investigation closes. This meant that neither our room bill could not be credited nor our difference in airline tickets. Our vacation was cut short, as we were originally scheduled to leave the resort on Saturday October 17, 2009. We always travel with a large group of people, and this particular vacation we were accompanied by ten of our friends and family. All of our traveling companions have been shocked and surprised by Marriott for attempting to handle this devastating situation without any type of compensation offered to us.

After a month now of our return and many calls to marriott, vacation club, Ocean Club, etc.......we have gotten no place except that they said it is handed over to their insurance company, however their insurance company only handles the actual items stolen and only if Marriott is at fault which Housekeeping does not fall under Marriott. Explain that one!! Plus in speaking with the higher management at marriott Ocean Club the deny all that was said and promise to us. And Aruban Police will not return calls or Emails.

So end result Marriott does not stand behind their name and do not care about personal safety or satisfaction from their customers.......and Aruba has now become a very unsafe island, while we were there a man got mugged in front of La Cabana and was fighting for his life.

Think twice before going to Aruba, especially Marriott properties and actually think about ever using Marriott again

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Marriott Change Policies On A Whim

Posted by lindi428 on 06/02/2008

TUCSON, ARKANSAS -- Marriott Hotels

Our employee booked a room for a federal conference with Marriott Tucson University Park. When he arrived he was told that the government rate was only available to federal government employees and the military; we are a county government employer. I called the Tucson Marriott office tried to talk to them about this matter offering to fax them confirmation of his government employment immediately. The clerk maintained that he was not a federal employee and therefore not eligible. Realizing that this was going to go nowhere fast I decided to deal with the problem through Marriott's customer care and had every expectation that the complaint would be resolved to our satisfaction.

I wrote to customer care detailing my problem and received a scathing email back for the Tucson property telling me that my employee is responsible for federal and military personnel not being able to stay at Marriott. This is the email:

I received your comments from Marriott Customer Care regarding Government rates at the Marriott University Park Hotel, Tucson, Arizona. We do offer, as do all Marriott hotels, based on availability, a Federal Per Diem Government Rate. Reservations can be made either on line or through our 800# reservations centers. When the reservations are made it is very clear, both on line and verbally, that to qualify for the Federal Rate you must be employed by the Federal Government and provide Federal ID at the time of check-in. If an individual makes a reservation under the Federal Per Diem Program and is not employed by the Federal Government they would not receive the Federal rate at the time of check-in, as they are not employed by the Federal Government.

Unauthorized reservations keeps authorized Federal Employees from staying with us, in particular our men and women serving in our Armed Forces. I fail to understand why someone not employed by the Federal Government should get that rate. If they for some reason assumed that other rate categories/programs applied, such as State, City and County, they were incorrect. Each entity must stand on its own merit and they are not part of the Federal or Marriott program. The guidelines are quite clear as to who qualifies for the Federal Government and Marriott Hotels Per Diem Rate Program.

We certainly appreciate you and your associates staying at Marriott Hotels and look forward to being of service in the future.

I emailed back and suggested that he read Marriott's own policy about government rates which showed that local and county government are eligible, not just federal government, I inserted a link to the policy. I again received a response with the offer that he would send me the list of who was eligible (I found during all of this that government employers can be pre-approved and I am assuming this is in response to this type of problem. I am copying his email response to this form.

I just reviewed the list I have as to who qualifies for the Federal Government Per Diem Program. I do not see anywhere on the list the blanked out Authority. If you would share that with me I would be happy to assist. I could also fax to you the list of qualification guidelines and the various Federal government agencies that do qualify. Thank you

After some email sparring I finally copy/pasted the string of obnoxious email to customer care and asked that they please deal with the problem themselves.

I found that Customer Care would not even entertain another side to this story and here is their initial email:

We have reviewed Mr. Thompson's reservation and the hotel's response, and we concur with the hotel's decision. The Federal Government rate requires proper identification to be presented at check-in and since the appropriate identification was not presented the hotel adjusted the rate and the rate change will remain. We regret any disappointment this may cause.

For your convenience I have noted the following government travelers are eligible for the Federal Government rate:

- Civilian federal government employees

- Active military personnel

- Federally Funded Research & Development Corporations (FFRDC)

- Canadian government and military

Valid forms of identification for the Federal per diem include the following:

- Federal Government-issued credit card

- Federal Government picture identification card

- Military picture identification card

- Travel Orders

- FFRDC identification card (picture or non-picture)

If we can be of further assistance, we invite you to reply to this message

I responded again with a link to their own policy and received the following:

Thank you for contacting Marriott. We appreciate your feedback regarding this matter.

As previously stated in order to be eligible for government discount rates, guests must be an active duty member of the military or current employee, of any level of local, county, state, or federal government within the United States. Supporting credentials will be required at the time that the guest checks in to the hotel.

Unfortunately, none of the proper credentials listed on the website could be provided by Mr. Thompson. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

This is a huge departure from their prior email where they listed only federal and military employees and since Mr. Thompson was told he couldn't use his ID he didn't get a chance to.

But suddenly having admitted that the rate is available to all government employees at any level from local through federal. They have gone back to blaming the problem on the fact that our employee could not produce proof. We tried to do just that not understanding that what we could supply would never been enough because of the misunderstanding of their policies.

Having revisited the website this particular hotel has now changed their website to include that only federal government employees are eligible. Several of our staff members saw the website before this change was made.

I have been a Marriott gold member for some time and suggested that my employees use Marriott, none of us ever will again. I am amazed that they are willing to lose customers over something so petty that in fact was because of their own ignorance. I received an email from posting this complaint on another forum:

I read your recent comments to Marriott customer Care regarding the website for Marriott Tucson and the Federal rate program. This website has been standard for Marriott Hotels threw out the United States. The hotel cannot change the criteria on the Web and I assure you the guidelines and words have not been changed, this is standard for all MarriottÃ¢ÂÂs. The Federal Program instituted by Marriott Corporation follows the Guidelines and criteria set by the Federal Government. We appreciate your staying with us and look forward to being of service to you in the future.

Joe Armbrust

General Manager

Marriott University Park Hotel

Tucson, AZ

This guy should do himself a favor and just admit what they did because this is not finished yet. Marriott owes us money and since it is taxpayers money we would like reimbursement.

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Stay away from the Marriott Residence Inn in Norcross GA

Posted by Thoroughly disgusted on 08/06/2007

NORCROSS, GEORGIA -- On August 4, 2007, our baseball team took a road trip to Georgia to see the Atlanta Braves play. Check in was at 3:00pm and we arrived at 4:00. Needless to say, the rooms were not ready and we had almost 25 people (14 children) waiting to check in. While we enjoyed the popcorn in the lobby, it was obvious that the hotel was short staffed for the day. Later that night (around 9), the smell of smoke came into a room that I was in and the room filled with smoke. We did not hear an alarm to indicate a fire but decided to leave the room to make sure everything was OK. Well, the people in the room across the hall had burned a pizza in the microwave and the alarm in their room had gone off. The entire hallway was filled with smoke. I went to the front desk- in the other building - and they were completely unaware of what was happening. They began receiving several phone calls from people the building to make sure that there was no fire.

We happened to have a fire marshal traveling with us and he recommended that they call the fire department. She had to call her manager to get approval and finally about 10 minutes later, Security called 911 (and was put on hold)and reported heavy smoke in one of the buildings. Once the 6 fire trucks arrived, I had to escort the firemen to the correct room and explain what happened. I asked the lady at the front desk if they could change the rooms of the parents that were on the 2nd floor but she stated that fire department said that everything was fine and they should open the windows and keep the doors closed. Later that night (at 2:00)- I heard a lot of music coming out the room down the hall and looked outside my room. A bunch of teenagers decided to have a party- with an open room full of liquor and beer. I called and complained and the police came and broke the party up. (911- second time). The next morning around 7:00 am- the parent in the room that my 7 year old daughter was staying called to get me to come pick her up because the residents in the next room were in a heated argument and threatening to call 911.

I called the front desk and they sent someone to knock on the door. Of course the people said that everyone was OK but within 20 minutes were arguing again. (3rd 911 call). Everyone left that room- so I don't know how that was resolved. Next- I was at breakfast- they had 3 large groups this weekend and so the room was pretty packed. They had a wonderful assortment of breakfast food but when I got the sausage, it was still frozen. I reported this to the attendant and he took the pan and warmed it up again. When he brought the next pan out, the meat was still frozen. After the third try, I gave up. Needless to say, this is only my complaint- of the 7 rooms that we reserved,each guest had a laundry list of items as well. When we tried to complain the day before, we were asked to wait until the manager came in the next day. Well, I waited in line and listened to several guest demand a refund when checking out. They had complaints that ranged from dirty rooms, bugs in the rooms, late check in and missing towels. These people were offered their room for free and 2 free weekends to any Marriott. I wasn't going to make a big deal but when a guest got 2 free weekends because she didn't have any towels, I just knew that my issues by far outweighed theirs.

When I spoke to the assistant manager- (she didn't notice that I was standing there when she offered these amenities to the people in front of me) I was informed that she would have to check with her manager before she could offer me any type of compensation. I asked her to call her manager. She informed me that he was out of the office for the next week for training. I asked her for the corporate office number, she informed me that they were not associated with a coporate office since they were a franchise. I asked for the GM's phone number-which she gave me. I called the number from my cell phone and would you believe that she had the audacity to give me the wrong number. I handed her the phone so that she could hear that it was the wrong number. She did not offer any other resolution. She kept telling me that I would have to wait until her manager got back into the office. I asked her how could she offer the other guests the free weekends- she lied and said that they had complained the day before and she had gotten pre-approval from the manager (that was out of town for a week) the day before. I went outside and tracked down one of the guests -who informed me that she had just complained that same day- not the day before. I asked the Assistant Manager to take my phone number and have the GM call me at his earliest convenience. I still have not heard back from him. At that point, I am fuming...I called the reservations line who transferred me to Customer Care at the Marriott corporate office.

I am awaiting a response from a District Manager because at this point, the locally owned franchise General Manager can not do anything to resolve this situation. Most of my issues were completely out of the hotels control and a simple apology would have sufficed but to have a member of management treat me as rudely as she did, refuse to provide the corporate number, and provide an invalid number to contact the General manager is completely unacceptable. I am trying to get resolution at a District Level but it is taking a bit too long for a response and for every day it takes, another complaint message board will be found.

I am writing you as the general manager of the Marriott Marquis in New York, and to express why you will not ever see me again as a guest at your property.

His name is Enfamy -- perhaps spelled incorrectly because I witnessed no one in the Concierge lounge wearing a name badge.

I shared my experience dealing with Enfamy with your guest relations manager, Wassim Youssef, before leaving your property yesterday. I understood you were not in.

Enfamy found himself in a position of rude, obstinent, gestapo-type authority over the Concierge Lounge yesterday afternoon. You allowed him, under your authority, to act in this position.

While I appreciate during closed hours, Marriott offers your Concierge Lounge for rent to others, Enfamy took the "special event" yesterday for privileged individuals as an opportunity to shun, embarrass and offend your other "valued" guests as outcasts and dejects.

The scenario: At approximately 4:55 p.m., but no sooner, I approached the Concierge Lounge entrance with another guest whom I did not know. The other guest reached the doorway before me, swiped his card, and tried the door. It was locked. Your other guest knocked. No one came or responded, though a heavyset African American man sat behind "central command" (your control desk), ignoring the other guest and me. He could not have known I was there. However, Enfamy looked at the guest through the narrow window, then at me, and continued to ignore us. The other guest knocked again, this time louder. Only three guests occupied the lounge, giving the appearance that the lounge was, in fact, open, and the card / door was broken. When Enfamy finally approached, he spoke to the guest (and indirectly, to me) through the glass. "The lounge is closed" he said, "private event". He spoke slowly with expressioned lips and gestures to make certain the mutes (me and your other guest) on the opposite side of the underprivileged door could understand him, like a teacher would address kindergarteners. The man (other guest) persisted. He knocked again. "I just want to sit down" he said. Enfamy opened the door about 5 inches, telling the man through the protected space, again, the lounge was closed. The man persisted. "I just want to sit down. Can't I wait over there in the corner? I don't want a drink yet." Enfamy's rude and obnoxious demeanor continued. "No, I said..." and the guest interrupted. Enfamy ostracized your guest (and again, indirectly, me since I wanted the same thing). Enfamy said, "You're not listening." to your other guest. "I'm telling you that you can't come in until the lounge opens at 5." At this point, it's now 4:57 p.m., and the three guests who were milling around inside for the "special event" had now left. Enfamy told the man and me that we'd have to wait. Your other guest persisted, now blocking Enfamy from closing the door on us by jamming his foot in the doorway, nearly starting a fistfight. "I'll just stand here" the guest said. "No, you'll have to wait outside" Enfamy responded. "You need to close the door." "I need to sit down, there, in the corner." your guest replied. We stood together, outside the Lounge, embarrassed and dejected. According to my watch, at 2 minutes after 5:00 p.m., one of your other associates in the lounge unlocked the door and let us in. This other associate gave me Enfamy's name.

I will not return to your property ever again. You will research my history with Marriott and find I've traveled from one Marriott to another across the country, staying with you more frequently than I stay in my own home.

I have never experienced such rude and obnoxious service from anyone, much less a Marriott employee, ever.

Mr. Dembek, Enfamy is the reason I will never return. In my opinion, Enfamy is a modern day street thug dressed as a Marriott employee who took the limited control you gave him (i.e., when to open and close the lounge) and he wielded that control like a Czar.

Your decision to employ such individuals speaks volumes about your management decisions, and as such, you won't need someone like me to return to you ever again as your "guest". I'll be treated better someplace else. Someplace where my loyalty is appreciated, and respected.

Dear Mr. Cooper,
Thank you for sharing your comments regarding your visit to the Concierge Lounge at the New York Marriott Marquis. Please accept my sincere apologies for the unpleasant experience you encountered. Our goal is to provide each and every guest with only the highest standards in hospitality and service. I am sorry to hear that one of my associates did not provide the service our guests come to expect at the Marquis. I want to assure you that this incident will be investigated and addressed appropriately. I thank you for bringing this training opportunity to my attention so I make the necessary improvements to improve our guest stay.

I do hope this isolated incident will not preclude you from staying at the Marriott Marquis in New York. Please do not hesitate to contact me so I may personally follow up on your stay to ensure it is an enjoyable experience. Thank you for writing to me, I appreciate your feedback.

Let me apologize for you feeling that my response was not appropriate. Let me assure you we are addressing the issue so it will not occur in the future. Please know that we do value your business. I understand you have choices when you visit New York and I hope you decide to make the Marquis your choice in the future to give us the opportunity to regain your trust.

As a Marriott guest, when I select your property for accommodations, I consider all of the amenities offered when booking my room. Location, cleanliness, quality, service, gym, restaurants, room service, concierge lounge.

When you don't provide the services I paid for, I am dissatisfied. When you provide your service with a rude, offensive and inappropriate employee, you have not provided the services I paid for.

Your hotel is not cheap. Your rooms were not what I expected, but your staff fixed that. If you don't provide the services I paid for, I have sufficient reason to complain to you, and to be disappointed for my experience at your property.

After further investigation of the weekend, our records indicate we offered an upgraded corner king, and a late check out on Sunday at no additional charge. At this time, I feel that we have more than compensated you for your concern and will not be offering any additional compensation. I have reviewed your concerns with Mr.. Marriott's office who are in agreement with our decision. We do discuss as a company how we handle our associates issues with our guests. I am sure you can understand our position and my responsibility as Hotel Manager.
We do appreciate your business to Marriott.

Recently from reward points to hotel reservations, to poorly kept rooms, I have become very dissatisfied with your service at the Town Plaza Suites, from rooms that were petite that was not my reservation; unclean with coffee cups, water bottles left, pans in the sink and these photos are attached on Saturday, May 16, 2009. The camera was not dated because we had to move quickly to go to the Springhill Suites and Josephine did not want to come up to look; the time was 6:30 pm. With staph infection and swine flu so easy to transfer, I don't know if the room was disinfected at all.

Rewards had me hold on last May 8, 2009 while they call Marriott hotel at Northeast Atl to see if I really stayed there April 8-10, 2009 and July 20-25,2008. Then coming back and saying there was no record of me staying at the hotel when I'm giving my receipt no. and date when my checking account was debited. Then I gave them the name of front desk manager, Montrell Jenkins and they called back and he verified all my information. There is no trust in your hotel for me any longer.

The rewards center had to verify my stay for August 1, 2008 and Labor Day weekend at the Atlanta hotel and even mentioned to me that I stayed free when in essence Richmond County Schools sent a check for $387 for July and I hand delivered this to the clerk and the other dates were deducted from my checking account.

On yesterday when I arrived at your Town suites, Columbus, Georgia and called back to reservations, James helped me while I called Josephine at the desk to cancel my reservation and set up at Springhill Suites. I used the points to pay for this reservation. The back of the room at Town Suites portrayed a basketball goal, toys, yard that was poorly maintained and one-bedroom mobile homes with no wall to keep customer privacy. When I went down to depart after our phone conversation, Josephine had left.

I then expained to the clerk again, while I was leaving. He told me the manager was Fyzal Ishahak and to notify him as well. He then offered me drinks and candy.

Finally at Springhill Suites, Jonise said I was a "Basic" member and could not use points and had to call her manager to see how they could put in the points because she did not see how I could use them although James at Reservations had set me up using my points. Thankfully, my mouth did not out-speak my mind because she was a basic worker at one of your properties. She then insisted on swipping my card although the room was free. She was very adamant about her managers names—with an attitude: “Milisa is guest services manager and Claire is the General Manager and gave me the cards for both. If the drive had been less than five hours, I would have driven back home!

Later I spoke to a clerk at Springhill who was ex-military and he was kind and said Jonise should not have use those words but Leonard Campbell said she was new and does weekends and probably should have called the manager after she had put me in and assigned a room and let the manager (s) handle it, and apologized again--what a friendly guy. He also said not to let that detain me from visiting the property again. She assigned me a room at the very end of the hall and my disabled mom could not walk to it!!! When I brought it to Jonise's attention, she said: "Could you and the girl with you switch rooms the?" My mom is under doctor's care for a leg would at Doctor's Hospital in Augusta, GA and Edgefield for her mind/aging.

It is with my sincere hopes that these matters will be addressed in the most appropriate manner. My Rewards number is 885057679. My address is:

6 Old Chappell Ferry Road

Johnston, SC 29832

Sincerely,

Rosa H. Johnson

To say the least, when I travel, be it one hour or five hours, there is no room for feeling this type of frustration, intimidation, and dissatisfaction.

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Change in policy reference military retirees.

Posted by Robert on 09/20/2012

Rating: 4/51

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- I served my country in the Air Force for almost 35 years and recently stayed a the Huge Marriott Hotel here in San Antonio. I telephonically asked for the militlary rate and when I showed up, displalyed my ID and was given a room at the military rate. After a couple of days I decided to get an additional room for my son and grandchildren. The clerk again looked at my ID and said I couldn't get the government rate as the rate was only for active duty or other government employees. I told him I was essentially still a govbernment employee as I was drawing a check from the DOD for my three plus decades of service. He allowed as how he would let it go this time as I wasn't aware of the rule. It was a bit embarrassing to me as I felt like I had consciously cheated by getting the military (Government) rate. I have stayed in Marriott hotels many times in the past since my retirment and have never had that mentioned. Not sure if it is due to the clerks not knowing what an active duty ID looks like as opposed to a retired ID or maybe some folks didn't get the memo? I believe its a sad situation when those of us that have served in several militry conflicts over the years are told the rate only applies to those presently serving. Not sure why the change in policy but I'd appreciate an answer as to why that decision was made. I could understand a restriction on a certain number of government rate rooms but not an entire retiree restriction.
Respectfully R. S. Ainslie, Colonel, USAF (ret)

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Stopped Complimentary Breakfast & Cookies

Posted by Sharron on 06/11/2012

Rating: 2/51

KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON -- We have stayed at many different Marriott Hotels and have always had great breakfasts and were offered cookies when we checked in. The last time we stayed in Kirkland, we were told that Corporate put a stop to this. Well, we will look for other places to stay that still offer these things. we often travel with our grandchildren and this really helps out.

Also, our son travels all over for his company and has mostly stayed at Marriotts, but will now look for other hotels. You may save some money in the short term, but in the long run, you will loose customers!

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Marriott's $250 Smoking Scam

Posted by Katie on 09/16/2010

My mother just got a $250 charge on her account for "smoking in the room" which is absurd because my mom is the biggest anti-smoker in the world. She spent hours on the phone with Marriott, going all the way up to the VP of Marriott, asking them if it really was true- why would she fight it this much. They said they had pictures of cigars and papers rolled up and tobacco leaves on a plate! really?? I read reviews online that some hotels offer their housekeepers get $10 bonuses for every smoker they catch. SO what, you don't tip them they make their OWN tip??? The VP refunded all but $50. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. As a smoker or nonsmoker how are you ever going to feel safe booking a hotel room knowing that you will have to find a way to make sure you are not scammed! What ever happened to "the Customer is ALWAYS RIGHT"??

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Fraud Charges

Posted by Tinydancer41265 on 11/24/2009

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY -- I stayed at this hotel during my mother's 60th Birthday...I received my credit card a month later and they charged an extra 250.00 on my card. When I called them they claimed there was somking in the room. Not possible as we are all non smokers. I argued with them with no result in a credit to my account. They have no ciagarette butts as proof...the only thing they could tell me is there was ashes in the sink...Hello...I know better. I am sure this was pocketed by the rude manager, Mr Miller....I will fight this to the end...no matter what...This place is a rip off...do not stay there...